Influence
by Kari-chan-06
Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder.
1. His name is Rick

Influence

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder. A series of murder turns up and they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare…

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1- His name is Rick...

Special Agent Gibbs walked into the bullpen, a cup of coffee in his hand, and looked around. His three agents were at their desk, it was just another morning. He frowned slightly when he noticed the ashen look on Kate´s face. She had looked tired and worn for almost a week now, but every time he had tried to talk to her, she would just tell him that it was personal. He didn´t like the change in her behavior, but he knew well enough not to dig into her personal belongings. At least as long as they didn´t interfere with her job, which they slowly did. "Agent Todd, I´d like a word with you." He called at her and noticed how her head shot up at the sound of her name.

He strode towards the elevator and waited for her to follow him. When the doors had closed, he hit the emergency stop and looked at her. "What is going on with you lately?" He asked and noted that her eyes didn´t give her away. She had been trained to hide her feelings if necessary and it really enraged him that she was so good at it.

"I already told you that´s personal." She replied and he noted that the strain also lay in her voice. "I´m doing my job and I don´t think you have any right to complain." That was something new. Gibbs was surprised by her reaction and caught himself staring at her for a moment. She had never raised her voice in front of him, except for interrogation of course.

He tried to look into her eyes, but she avoided him. "Kate, you look awful and that has me worried." He finally said and she looked up again. He couldn´t tell what she was thinking, her eyes were still not giving her away. "In our job, anyone of us could get killed when we walk out that door. I´m not going to let you endanger your life or the life of anyone else on the team."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared back at him. "Fine then." She flipped the emergency stop off again and stormed out after the doors opened. For the rest of the day, she just did her job, but never even said as much as a word to him, except when it was about the case or absolutely necessary. At 5 pm sharp she packed her belongings and headed out of the office, again without a single word.

"Wow...what´s been eating her lately?" Tony asked and looked at his boss for an explanation. It startled him to notice that even Gibbs seemed rather clueless. "Since she started dating that guy, she´s really weird." He added and grinned when the older man shot a questioning look at him. "Gee, boss. You didn´t know?"

"No, Dinozzo, I didn´t know. So, will you tell me what you know or do I have to beat it out of you?" Gibbs asked and looked at his agent. He hadn´t known about any dates or some man in Kate´s life. Usually, she would have told him -she had told him a couple of times before, mostly when things hadn´t worked out.

Tony leaned back, obviously enjoying his superior position here. "You want me to spill confidential information about a co-worker? Wow...that´ll be expensive." He said and a grin crept over his face. Yes, he would mark this day red in his calendar.

"How about you will still have a job tomorrow?" Gibbs offered with a grim look on his face and pulled out a pen to take notes. Whatever was going on, it had an influence on Kate and he didn´t like it. Maybe it was just a gut feeling. Abby would call him jealous if he told her, maybe even Ducky would, but Gibbs knew that it wasn´t like that. Kate was one of his agents, a friend maybe, but never more.

Tony raised his hands. "All right. I don´t know much. I cornered her after overhearing her talking on the phone one day. His name is Rick and he´s working in administration over at the base in Norfolk. They´ve been dating for about two months now, I think it´s going rather well. She´s never dated a guy that long. That´s all I know, boss. I mean, she´s different, yes, but who knows if it isn´t for good?" He said and tossed a piece of paper into the trashcan.

Gibbs got up and sighed. "She looks like she hasn´t slept for at least two days, she snaps at almost everyone around, she is gone at 5 pm sharp, no matter how much work there is and Abby said she´s not been over at her place for as long as two months. Anything there ring a bell, Dinozzo?"

"Well, that does sound a bit odd, but hey, she might have met the man of her dreams and spends a lot of time with him -especially nights. You´ve been married three times, boss. I´m sure you remember that part, don´t you?" Tony asked and grinned widely. Still, he had to admit that her recent behavior startled him quite a bit.


	2. Meditation 101

Influence

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder. A series of murder turns up and they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare…

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2- Meditation 101

Kate didn´t drive home right away. Rick had left her a message to meet him at the community center in Norfolk. He was member of a church called Spiritual Guidance, which had seemed a bit odd to her at first. After he had taken her along to meet others from his church and showed her their services, she had grown accustomed to this. She had been raised in a strict catholic household, but never before had she met anyone who could answer those questions her religion had left open.

She couldn´t explain why or how, but somehow she felt really save with him and the people from his church. They were meeting three times a week. After joining the meetings as a guest at first, she had started to take lessons from a woman who lived just a block from her apartment. Some of the things she heard there were odd, but the more she dug into the subject, the clearer it seemed to become. The basics were yoga and meditation, which Kate didn´t find too odd. After all, she had been taking pilates and yoga classes for some time now.

At the meeting, they would pray and share something that seemed similar to what her church called sacrament. It was taken with eyes closed as a sign for ultimate trust in the head of the congreggation. The touch of cold metal to the forehead was the sign to open the mouth and swallow a few drops of some sweet liquid, called goldblood. They said that it helped to meditate and face the spirits, which Kate found surprisingly true. At first, she had been rather sceptical, but after her first encounter with the bright spirits, she lost all doubts about it.

Meditation was a kind of a mixture of prayers and silent questioning of the spirits. It took about an hour, if not a little more than that. The first few times, Kate had been exhausted afterwards and so weak that Rick had to half carry her back to the car, but as she went to the meetings more regularly, she adjusted to the feeling rather quickly. It was around the time that she started to get into more and more conflicts at work. Suddenly, her co-workers, whom she had thought to be her friends, started to question her about what was going on, but Kate felt that it was her privacy and denied any comment on it. She even jumped at Gibbs as he tried to question her about it.

It was about two weeks later that Rick pulled her into his car after a meeting for a rather unpleasant talk. "I talked to Bill Brock about you. He said that you have great potential, but to reach divine purity won´t be easy. He said you could be ready within a few days, but that job of yours, especially the people there seem to disturb your spirit. They hold you back from becoming pure, Katie." He told her and looked into her brown eyes.

"But NCIS is my life, Rick." Kate replied and met his gaze. She saw warmth and care there. Her heart was beating faster as she lost herself into his green eyes again. After a few moments, she nodded slightly. "All right. I´ll take care of it. What was that about initiation?" She inquired then and made a note to drive by at the office after talking to Rick.

"Initiation is done at new moon. It´s the only way to become pure. The next ceremony will be tomorrow at 11 pm at the usual place. You really need to be ready if you want to be taken for this turn. There is only one person per new moon, so chances to get to divine purity are rather slim. I could put in a good word for you though..." Rick told her and caressed her face. "I´m really proud of you, Katie." He said and kissed her softly.

He drove her home and returned to their community center afterwards. There was a lot to prepare for the ceremony and since he was the second highest priest, he had to make sure that everything was ready when the hour came. They had to uncover the stone plate out at the old Chisenhall Cemetery. It was surrounded by trees that hid their ceremony from anyone driving by. The cemetery had been abandoned years ago and was just perfect for their needs.

Whistling a soft tune, Cuttling pulled the golden knife from the drawer just beneath the goldblood and started to polish it with a soft cloth. Initiation was a strenous thing and required a lot of strenght, both physically and mentally, but he had guided many others before Kate. Tomorrow would be a new moon and it was the time to pay the spirits for their guidance.


	3. The letter

Influence

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder. A series of murder turns up and they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare…

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3- The letter

At 8 am sharp, Gibbs walked into the bullpen and looked around. "Where´s Kate?" He asked Dinozzo, who seemed busy disecting his breakfast burrito.

"No idea, boss. Haven´t seen her yet." Tony replied and started to chew on a string of bacon. He watched his boss walking to his desk. "What´s that?" He asked and pointed to something that was taped to Gibbs´ computer monitor.

"What does it look like, Dinozzo?" Gibbs barked at him and opened the letter. His eyes moved quickly as he read it, slamming his fist onto the desk all the sudden, which sent a pen to the floor. The sound startled McGee, who almost spilled his coffee on a file. "Damn!"

Both younger agents looked at each other with rather startled looks on their faces. "What´s wrong? Another ex-wife you didn´t know existed?" Dinozzo joked and ducked as he saw the look in Gibbs´ eyes. Something was really wrong here, because that look could really kill anyone.

"If you don´t want to clean out the morgue for the next 10 years, you better shut up." Gibbs picked up his phone and dialed a number. He listened for a moment and hung up again. "Just so you know it, Kate just resigned. Now, get a lead on that killed woman -we´ve been on that for almost a month now. I need coffee." The last words were muttered under his breath, but both agents knew what it meant.

Tony felt his jaw drop after Gibbs had walked out again. "Kate resigned? Hey, that must be the earliest prank for April fool´s day. What do you think, probie?" He asked Tim, who had snuck up to the largest desk where the letter still lay open for everyone to see.

"Don´t think so, Tony. That sure is Kate´s handwriting and it´s her signature for sure." McGee said. "Says personal reasons there. Did she tell you anything?" He asked and returned to his own desk before Gibbs had a chance to come back and catch him looking at the letter.

"Nope, nothing. Wow...that´s not like Kate. I mean, she´s been weird sometimes before, but since she´s dating that Rick-guy, she has changed big ways." Tony replied and tried to call Kate on her cell, but only got her voice mail. He didn´t bother to leave her a message, she would see that he called and hopefully return the call. "Hey, about that girl that was found near Ocean View down in Norfolk last month? I ran a check with the police and they had more such cases in the last year. Always around that area. I reckon Gibbs will like that."

"What will I like, Dinozzo?" A voice came from the elevator and their boss came walking back with a large cup of coffee in his hand. "Better be good."

"That PO they found last month, she´s not a single victim. There were others found in that area over the last year, only none was a navy employee so far. Always the same principle -drugged, beaten and finally cut across the throat, leaving them to bleed to death. Couldn´t find any other things they had in common though. That´s probably why those cases were never linked up before." Dinozzo said and noted that Gibbs looked a bit pleased, which was a good thing.

"Abby found some DNA under the victim´s nails. She ran a search for it and it actually turned up a result." He opened a file on the large plasma and waited until the other two men looked at it. "Richard David Cuttling, working in administration at Norfolk base. Has been charged with inappropriate behavior in public, promoting some kind of sect. The group is called Spiritual Guidance and is referred to as highly questionable." McGee reported and smiled satisfied.

Gibbs crossed his arms in front of his chest. "And?" He inquired, wondering if there was more to it. He had a hard time keeping his mind on track. Seeing Kate resigning from NCIS had really shaken him.

"Well, I ran a background on that group and it turned up a website. I hacked into their server and got a member list. All 11 victims were on it. All were between 24 and 26 years old. That´s a bit odd, isn´t it?" Tony said and nodded at McGee to go on. They had worked this out rather well and displayed good teamwork here.

Gibbs still stared at the picture and wondered where he had seen that face before. "I want more on those previous cases. Get the autopsy reports, family interviews and so on. Results at 5 pm on my desk." He said and watched them go to work. Kate would have been a great help on this as she was their best profiler, but they would have to do this without her. He noted that there was something missing without her around, but of course, he would never admit that to anyone.


	4. Recognition

Influence

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder. A series of murder turns up and they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare…

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4- Recognition

Tony groaned as he checked his watch again. It was almost 5 pm and he was stuck. He was sure that he was missing something, but after reading through reports, interviews and files for hours, his brain seemed to shut down due to too much information at once. "Hey, probie, got anything on your side of this stuff?" He asked McGee, who was reading so fast that his eyes blurred. "McGee!" Tony called as the younger agent didn´t react for a few seconds.

"Hang on for a second..." McGee replied and read the last paragraph again. "Hey, Tony, did the families of your victims say that their daughters had changed in their behavior prior to their death?" He asked and Tony simply nodded. "So, we have 11 young women, counting PO Moore in on that, dead within the last year. It´s always a thing of drugs and a gash across the throat. What did you find on the victim´s profiles? Anything matching?"

Dinozzo shot up at that last inquiry. "Oh, how could I miss that?" He exclaimed and pulled out two files again. "You´re a genius, probie. You just saved our heads." He said and read the lab reports again.

"That should be left for me to decide. Now, gentlemen, what did you find?" Gibbs´ asked as he walked in with a cup of coffee in his hand. He sat down at his desk and waited for one of his agents to start. He had spent most of the day downstairs, either talking to Ducky or Abby, but those two hadn´t been able to help him much on this case.

Tony looked at McGee to begin. Normally, he would have started with McGee´s findings, mainly to impress Kate, but somehow he felt that his younger colleague had earned the right to go first. Tim nodded and for a second it looked like he was nervous. "We have 11 victims, including PO Moore. The previous 10 were not navy employees, but we got their files from the police. Except for the way they were killed and the area they were found in, there were no obvious parallels suggesting a serial killer. When we looked more closely at the autopsy reports, it literally jumped on us." He said and noted that Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

"What jumped on you?" He inquired, now looking at Tony, who had been listening to McGee´s report until that very second. "Dinozzo, I´d say McGee is after your job, so what you got to convince me that I should keep you as second in command?" Gibbs smirked as he noted the fire burning in Tony´s eyes at this. Sometimes he needed that little extra push to perform at the top of his abilities.

Pulling out his notes, Tony got up and leaned against his desk. "All victims were female, 24 to 26 years old, brown hair, all between 5´5" and 5´8" tall. And most obvious, all of them had been born in the second half of May." He said and saw that McGee nodded. It had been a bit of a wager to put it like this, but it seemed to be worth the risk.

"Plus, we know that they were killed between 11 pm and 1 am on a new moon night." McGee added and tried to put another file on top of the large pile that already sat on his desk. He failed miserably and had to launch himself across his desk to keep the whole paperwork of this afternoon from tumbling to the floor.

Tony chuckled, but got up to help him. "Gee, you sure need some work on your coordination, probie." He said and then caught the look in Gibbs´ eyes. "What you thinking, boss?" He inquired, but didn´t get an answer.

"I want you to go over the background of the victims again. There has to be a link between them. All those parallels are just a bit too odd to be a coincidence or a copy-cat. McGee, get the locationsof the bodies to Abby. I want her to put them on a map and see if there´s a system or something obvious about it. Dinozzo, call up the families and see if there´s anything else that wasn´t in those interviews." He ordered and watched both agents get to work. After taking a large sip from his coffee, he picked up his phone again, dialing Kate´s number for the fifth time today, but there was just her voice mail again. "Kate, this is Gibbs. Give me a call. I need to talk to you." He said and noticed that Dinozzo grinned a bit as he overheard this.

McGee shot a surprised look at Tony as he walked into the elevator, a file under his arm. It was going to be a very long day today. The lab was filled with music, like most times. "Abby!" He yelled to get her attention, but only when he turned the stereo off, she spun around. "Gibbs wants you to plot these locations and look for a system." He handed her the file.

"Tonight? Gee, it´s almost 6 pm already. I told Jess that I´ll meet her at 7 pm..." She said and pulled the first sheet out of the file.

He raised an eyebrow. "Who is Jess?" He inquired, sitting down at her desk as she continued to work. They had a lot in common and every time they worked together, one learned something new from the other. Tim had actually considered to ask for a transfer to the lab, but never dared to bring that up in front of Gibbs, who was known to reject each and every request for transfer within the unit once he had gotten his team set up.

Abby was feeding the computer with the data as she looked over at him for a moment. "Jess as in Jessica Thomas. You´ve met her when we were out for dinner two weeks ago. That freaky looking girl with the red hair." She replied and grinned. "When we met Kate and her new boyfriend. Anyway, it´s new moon tonight and we´re going out to some party at the..." She paused when she saw the look on his face. "Tim?"

McGee felt his heart skipping a beat as her words echoed in his mind. "Oh my...Abbs, do you have that file of Cuttling on your computer? I mean, did you look at it before sending it up to me?" He asked, noting that he was starting to ramble.

She turned around completely, ignoring the flashing sign on the computer screen that asked for further data input. "Actually, Ducky was here when I got the result, so I just sent it up to you without having a look. Why?" Abby gave him a startled look and wondered what had gotten into him all of the sudden. "Wanna see it again?" She asked and saw him nod.

When the picture of the man appeared on the plasma, McGee heard her gasp. "When I saw that guy, I wondered why he seemed familiar..." He said and bolted out of the lab without another word. He didn´t bother to wait for the elevator and was somewhat out of breath when he ran into the bullpen, causing both Gibbs and Dinozzo to stare at him.


	5. Time is running out

Influence

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder. A series of murder turns up and they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare…

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5- Time is running out

Tony grinned when his younger co-worker bolted into the bullpen, red face and breathing hard. "Wow, what did Abbs do?" He asked and leaned back on his chair. "Oh, boss. I just called up the mother of Moore -she said that her daughter had been dating a man shortly before she disappeared. His name was..."

"Richard Cuttling." Tim cut into his colleague´s sentence without letting him finish. He finally got some more air in and felt his pulse slowing down again.

Dinozzo turned around. "Wow...now I know how Abby feels sometimes. Probie, that´s scary, you know that? I always thought Gibbs was the only one who..." He started, but couldn´t finish this either.

"Dinozzo, check with those other families -I want to know if that´s just a coincidence here. Anything else, McGee?" Gibbs asked and threw his cup into the trashcan. He knew that he had to go out to get fresh coffee soon, but somehow he had a feeling that there was more to this information.

While Tony was on the phone, McGee put his head into his hands for a second to sort his thoughts. It was almost7:30 pm by now and he wanted to be sure that he gave his boss the correct information. "Abby is plotting the locations for you -she will need about another hour as she has to convert them into...anyway, you´ll have it soon. The other thing is, I finally remembered where I have seen Cuttling before." McGee said and noted that the only reaction to this was another raised eyebrow.

"So?" Gibbs inquired as he searched his drawer for something eatable, only coming across a half rotten tuna sandwich and a pack of oreos. Both landed in the trashcan. "McGee, today!"

"Yes, sure...uhm...see, I took Abby to that restaurant downtown and we met Kate out there with her boyfriend. Who is no other than Richard Cuttling." It was finally out and he watched how Gibbs buried his face in his hands with a low moan.

"Boss, I checked with three other familes -all say that their daughters were dating someone named Rick shortly before they died." Tony called at the same second, wondering why his boss looked like he was suffering from a major headache. "Boss? Are you okay?" He asked, sounding at least a bit concerned now. This was not a Gibbs-like reaction to news like this.

Instead of saying anything, he picked up his phone. "Abbs, I need that map ASAP! No, I actually don´t care, just get it up here." He barked and threw the phone onto his desk. A quick glance at his watch confirmed that time was really ticking now. He had to be sure before doing anything. He still hoped that his fears wouldn´t be confirmed, but with all the luck he had had all day long, they would probably be more accurate than he liked. "I´m getting some coffee." He said and strode out of the bullpen again.

It was around 10:10 pm when Abby finally emerged from the elevator, finding herself face to face with a rather angry Gibbs. "What happened? You said an hour -not two hours and a half." He snapped and watched how she let her head down. "Sorry, Abbs...it´s just kinda late. What did you find?" He asked then, putting his hand on her arm to show her that he wasn´t mad at her.

Abby sighed and handed him a printout. "My computer crashed twice, so I had to start all over, anyway...this is a map of the area. You´ll notice that all were found in a radius of about 5 miles of Ocean View. If you triangulate all locations, you get a plot right here." She put her finger onto a green patch and met puzzled faces. "I checked with the actual city map. There´s an abandoned cemetery there. It´s called Chisenhall cemetery, abandoned since 1984. There have been reports of illegal parties and other strange things. If you give me another hour, I´ll get you those reports." She told him and wondered why he balled his hands into fists.

"How far is it from here?" He asked as he walked to his desk and put his gun into the holster, making sure that he had enough ammo in it. "Abby, today."

"Uhm...I´d say about 55 minutes, okay, 45 if you are driving. Anything else?" She asked and noted that he started to put his protection gear on. "Wow...who are you going out for? Anyone we know?"

"Dinozzo, McGee, what are you waiting for? Gear up." He commanded and grabbed the map from Abby. "Thanks, Abbs. Stay here in case we need you." He said and walked towards the garage so fast that both agents had to run to keep up with him. They didn´t ask when he jumped into the MCRT truck and buckled up. McGee took Kate´s place in the front and made sure that his seatbelt was fastened.

42 minutes and at least 500 curses from both agents later, Gibbs shut the headlights off and pulled onto a small dirtroad that lead away from the main road. A grey stonewall appeared to their left out of thin air as did about 15 cars parked in front of it. They passed a large iron gate and parked a bit further up to make sure that nobody noticed their truck. It was large enough without parking right out front. "What are we doing here, boss?" Dinozzo asked as he drew his gun out of the holster.

"Pray that I´m wrong, but I think Cuttling is responsible for those murders -and that he´s about to commit another one tonight." Gibbs replied in a low voice which sounded almost like a growl. "If he puts as much as a scratch on her, I kill him." He added under his breath and luckily, none of the other two men heard it.

The cemetery was completely dark and McGee stumbled over something on the ground twice. He pulled himself up again, muttering curses under his breath as they continued to approach a spot where a faint light shone into the darkness. A soft humming could be heard. Gibbs felt his muscles tensing as they approached and checked his watch for the last time. It read 11:07 pm.

The light came from a small clearing hidden between a group of large trees. They were dense enough to provide cover for them, but still apart enough to slip through without causing much sound. As they reached the group of tree that was closest to the clearing, a strange scene unfolded in front of them. 20 people dressed in large white robes stood in a circle, shutting the inside completely off from their view, but there were at least two more people in the middle of the circle. Candles had been put everywhere, giving off an eerie light.

"Brothers and sisters, the last hour of the moon has come again and the spirits are close tonight. They have come to request the price for their services. Tonight we shall bring them another sacrifice as we command our young sister into their care. Let us offer a last prayer to the spirits as we accompany her on her journey to divine purity." A voice called in a strange, almost singing tone. The same moment, everyone in the circle dropped to the ground, stretching out flat, face pressed against the ground, arms stretched out in front of them.

Gibbs heard Tony take a sharp breath and saw the reason a second later. In the middle of the circle was a stone plate and in the center of it were three people. Two men in red robes kneeling over a woman dressed in a thin white dress. She seemed unconscious and even in the dim light, Gibbs noted the bruises on her face. He caught a glimpse of something shiny one of the men held in his hand and recognized a knife. Without thinking about it, he jumped out of his cover. "NCIS, nobody moves." He yelled and pointed his gun at the two men dressed in red.


	6. To the rescue

Influence

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder. A series of murder turns up and they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare…

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6- To the rescue

The man with the knife had a mad look in his eyes. "We shall offer our price to the immortal spirits." He cried and raised his arm to finish what he had started. The knife clattered onto the stone plate only seconds later as he was thrown backwards from the impact of three bullets. McGee and Dinozzo forced the circle to open and held the people in check. The group seemed too surprised to try and get away, which was a good thing since they were too many to catch at once.

Gibbs shoved the body of the shot man out of his way and shoved the second one into Tony´s direction. It took only seconds until he had the situation cleared and knelt down next to the lifeless form. There were candles giving off a soft light. It wasn´t very bright, but enough to see that she had been beaten badly. He reached for a pulse, cringing at the look of the bloody gash on her forehead. After a few seconds, he felt a steady beat under his fingers and sighed. "Dinozzo, we need an ambulance. McGee, get the police here ASAP." He ordered and cradled her head into his lap. "Hold on, Kate. We´re here now." He whispered as he put one hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure her that she was save.

With his free hand, he pulled out his cell. "Duck, I need you to meet us at Bethesda. Yes, I know what time it is. It´s Kate, so just get there." He said and tried to pull her tangled hair out of her face. It seemed to take forever until some police officers and two EMTs ran into the clearing. Everyone was taken away immediately until there were only four people beside the medics left. "Take her to Bethesda." Gibbs ordered as he walked to his agents. "Both of you okay?"

They nodded, but he noticed that both looked a bit pale. McGee put his gun away and brushed through his hair. "Gee...how did you know, boss? I mean, a second later and that guy would have killed her."

"Just a gut feeling. When you told me about Cuttling being Kate´s boyfriend and the confirmation that he had seen those other girls too, I just took the chance. We could have been wrong, but luckily we weren´t. That´s what this job is about. This and a large chunk of teamspirit." Gibbs said and turned back to where the medics were preparing Kate for transport. "Tony, you´re going with her. We follow in the truck." He finally said and headed out towards the road.

"Boss? Everything okay?" McGee suddenly asked when they got into the truck again. It surprised him a bit to hear that question from his youngest agent. "You look pale."

"I´m fine, McGee." He replied and started the truck as the ambulance pulled out of the road in front of them. The drive was silent and when he parked in front of Bethesda, he saw a familiar green car parked out front. Mallard stood right next to it, along with a second figure. Her pigtails gave her away, eventhough her face was hidden in the shadows.

"Jethro, what happened?" Ducky asked as he watched the ambulance approach the entrance. Concern was in his features and as they walked closer, Gibbs noted that Abby had streaks of black mascara on her cheeks. He had never seen her cry before.

"We found the guy who killed those 11 women -he was about to get his 12th victim. Go look after her, Duck." He told his friend and put an arm around Abby. "She´ll be okay, Abbs. We got to her before they could do any serious harm to her."

She looked at him with wide eyes, which were still wet from tears. "I´m just thinking what would have been if you had been too late –what if my computer would have crashed again? She could be dead…" Abby said and leaned onto his shoulder.

Gibbs stroked her head. "She´ll be fine, Abbs. We were there in time –thanks to the map you got for us. We wouldn´t have found her without your help, so don´t you dare to blame yourself or anything. Got that?" He asked in a much more commanding tone and she nodded.

"Yes, Sir, Gibbs, Sir." She replied with a slight smile. "Thanks." With that, Abby turned to where McGee and Dinozzo stood. Gibbs watched her rushing into a hug from his youngest agent and smiled a bit. He knew that they were more than just colleagues, but he didn´t mind. Rule 12 was his rule. It was his way to keep himself from becoming emotionally attached to anyone again. It was his way of keeping himself from being hurt again.

He turned towards the entrance and walked into the waiting room. His team followed closely and they just sat in silence for a while. Ducky came back around 3 am, finding all except for Gibbs asleep on their chairs. Both men walked into the hallway. "How is she, Duck?"

The older man sighed and searched for the right words. "Caitlin has been drugged and obviously beaten rather badly. She has a cracked rib and some severe bruising all over her body, but I believe she will recover just fine. They sedated her to give her body time to get rid of the drugs, but it will take a while. They didn´t want to wash her blood since it would put additional strain on her system. I´m not going to make things any brighter than they are, but I believe she will be okay, at least physically. There is no way to say what scars this will leave on her soul though. Time will tell, Jethro, but she will need a lot of time to heal, if she ever does." Mallard said and watched his reaction.

"Okay. I want someone to be with her all the time –if one of that freaky group tries to go after her, I want to be prepared." Gibbs replied, trying to sound as professional as he could muster. Deep inside he was relieved, very relieved. If Kate had died or seriously hurt, he would have never forgiven himself for not being there to save her. "I´ll wake up the others and…"

Ducky simply shook his head. "I can see it in your eyes that you can´t wait to see her, Jethro. Just go and sit with her for a while. I shall take care of the rest of your team." He said and strode off into the waiting room again.

Gibbs smiled a bit, silently thanking his friend for his sensitivity and walked into the elevator. Ducky had given him the room number on a piece of paper. It was located right next to the break room, which had a coffee maker too. Armed with a large cup of extra strong coffee, he opened the door and walked into a semi-darkness.


End file.
